Chronicling the role and views of communists in the struggle for the annihilation of caste
25 December 2019 marks the 51st anniversary of the Keezhvenmani massacre, where 44 Dalit agricultural workers were killed by feudal landlords in Keezhvenmani village of Tamil Nadu. Anticaste.in republishes an article by Vijoo Krishnan, Joint Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), who wrote the piece after visiting Keezhvenmani in 2017. [Read more]
The decision to end Made Snana and Ede Snana at Udupi has come as a result of protracted struggles, sustained campaigns and continuous pressure on government authorities and religious heads to bring down the curtains on the degrading practices. [Read more]
A wire fence which blocked a concrete road used by Dalits in Pongalur block of Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur district has been removed following the intervention of the TNUEF and the CPI(M). [Read more]
Thousands of people participated in the protest organised by the Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch (DSMM) on 21 March 2018. [Read more]
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has intensified the agitation seeking justice for the Dalits of Devarapalli in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh who have been displaced from their land. The Dalits of Devarapalli have been waging a struggle for the restoration of the land they have been cultivating for 50 years. They were evicted from the land for constructing a tank for the agriculture needs of the farmers belonging to upper castes in the village under the “Neeru Chettu scheme”. On Saturday, 29 July, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau member BV Raghavulu visited the area and joined the agitation by leading the cultivation of the land. [Read more]
The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) organised a 360-km walk from Salem to Chennai against the scourge of caste arrogance killings (often called ‘honour’ killings) in Tamil Nadu. The walk concluded on June 22 in Chennai with a ‘March to the City’ demanding the passing of an act specifically against ‘honour’ killings. Over 300 people, including CPI(M) Tamil Nadu Secretary G. Ramakrishnan, courted arrest in the struggle on the final day. Anticaste.in spoke to Samuel Raaj, General Secretary of the TNUEF, on the motivation and aims behind the Walk and on the experience gained from it. [Read more]
Satyendra More, Subodh More
2017 marks the 90th anniversary of two historic struggles for social justice in India. These are the Chavdar Lake Satyagraha of March 1927 at Mahad, Maharashtra, in which thousands of Dalits for the first time drank water from the lake that had been for centuries set aside only for caste Hindus, and the burning of the Manusmriti at Mahad in December 1927. The leader of these struggles was Dr B R Ambedkar, and it was with these two movements that Dr Ambedkar first emerged as one of the champions of the struggle for social justice in the country.
The main organiser of both these struggles was R B More, who was to become a widely respected communist leader. On 11 May 2017, the 45th death anniversary of Comrade R B More, Anticaste.in republishes an essay written in 2003 by his son Satyendra More and grandson Subodh More. The essay was originally written as two articles by the authors separately, and were combined and edited by Ashok Dhawale for People’s Democracy. [Read more]
A degrading, age-old ritual in Hassan district of Karnataka which involves piercing the flesh of Dalits using metal hooks has come under challenge by democratic forces led by the Dalit Hakkugala Samiti. The ritual known as ‘Sidi’ involves inserting metal hooks into the flesh of the backs of Dalit men, who are then tied to a wooden pole. The men dangle from the wooden pole with the help of the hooks, while the pole, which is mounted on a central axis, spins slowly as it is pulled by a rope held by other men. [Read more]
The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) led a militant struggle at Vembi Village in Villupuram District demanding house-sites for Dalits. The struggle ended successfully and 105 landless families living in precarious conditions got house-sites. [Read more]
The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) led a massive protest for land reclamation in Pennagaram town of Dharmapuri district. 345 Dalit families participated in this protest demanding land for livelihood. The protest was a big success. [Read more]